You can find him in the Emergency Medical Science wing of Lenoir Community College.

He breathes there, he sleeps there.

He provides EMS students with hands-on experience, preparing them to disperse into ambulances, hospitals and other emergency departments across the area.

He goes by the name of … SimMan.

In its third generation of simulation patients, SimMan acts like a real person in critical distress for EMS students at LCC.

The simulation mannequin — which also includes an infant model — blinks, makes sounds, pulsates and has a rising and falling chest, which are all controlled by remote monitors.

SimMan is made of rubberized material and weighs about 100 pounds.

“We try to give (students) a nice and real controlled environment for them to be able to take all this information we’re giving them and put it into a practical application,” LCC EMS instructor Christine Taylor said.

She said the students have to identify the need of the patient, select the correct medicine and dosage and find a way to dispense it.

But it’s not so easy if SimMan’s airways are blocked or he needs to be revived.

Expired medicine was donated by local EMS agencies or water is packaged to look like real prescriptions.

“It gives them that real-time effect,” Taylor said.

The simulation dolls are controlled from a computer room with two-way glass so students won’t readily anticipate a situation change.

“It’s good practice for how its going to be in the real medical world,” said EMS student Bryan Bizzell, who’s studying to be a paramedic. “We need more hands-on practice so we can master our crafts, so when we go out (there) trying to save lives, it won’t be a surprise to us.”

Before advancing to SimMan treatment, students have to go through basic medical practices in the facility. Various stations are set up outside of the “situation rooms” where students learn techniques such as airway management and lung and heart sounds.

“They have to become comfortable with those concepts prior to being released out into what we call the ‘field’ when they’re actually on the ambulance and trying to help people,” Taylor said.

The SimMan series is used in other programs across the nation and began in 2005, Taylor said, who was taught at LCC by current EMS instructor Alyce Farley.

“Splints and a mannequin was all we had,” Farley said. “We borrowed our equipment.”

Taylor, having completed her medical training at LCC, said she’s seen the EMS program undergo extreme improvements.

“Today, it’s 100 times better than it was 13 years ago when it started,” she said, citing former limited resources that are now available at the EMS lab.

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Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.